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Conflict in Syria

US going to work hard to prevent downfall of IS in Syria, says Russian senator

A senior Russian legislator warns Washington will be doing everything possible to thwart the defeat of the Islamic State

© AP Photo/Christophe Ena

MOSCOW, October 11. /TASS/. Washington will be doing everything possible to thwart the defeat of the Islamic State (a terrorist group outlawed in Russia) in Syria, senior Russian legislator Frantz Klintsevich told reporters on Wednesday, adding that the US is no longer concealing these intentions

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"Yes, Syria is by no means Iraq or Libya. Maybe it is for the first time in the Middle East that things for the US are going far from the way they had planned, and they are on the verge of a nervous breakdown," said Frantz Klintsevich, first deputy chairman of the Federation Council’s Committee for Defense and Security, commenting on a corridor to the southern de-escalation zone given to 600 gunmen from the territory under the US control.

"Providing the corridor means that Americans have pulled the plug on all decorum, and have even stopped concealing their intentions," the senator said.

"There is no doubt that the US will continue doing its best to prevent IS’ losses in Syria," he went on. "Moreover, I don’t rule out any surprises there, the Americans have given up on all restrictions in cooperation with the militants, if any," Klintsevich’s press service quoted him as saying.

Earlier reports said that the Russian Defense Ministry was forecasting an attempt to derail the peace process in the fourth (southern) de-escalation zone with the participation of the US.

"Considering such serious manpower reinforcements thanks to US benevolence and the creation of stocks of medicines with food supplies, one does not have to be an expert to forecast an attempt to disrupt the peace agreement now in the southern de-escalation zone as well. We are warning that all the responsibility for sabotaging the peace process will be borne by the US side," Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said earlier on Wednesday.

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Terrorists from US-controlled area capture two aid convoys in Syria

Starting from May, four de-escalation zones have been in the process of being set up in Syria in line with an agreement reached in Astana by representatives of Russia, Iran and Turkey, the guarantors of the Syrian ceasefire. De-escalation zones including the Idlib province, some parts of its neighboring areas in the Latakia, Hama and Aleppo provinces north of the city of Homs, Eastern Ghouta, as well as the Daraa and al-Quneitra provinces in southern Syria. As of May 6, military activities and aircraft flights in the de-escalation zones are banned. The memorandum will remain in effect for six months and can be automatically extended for another six months.

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Foreign policy Syrian conflict

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